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sam_hartwig's review against another edition
4.0
Phew, that was a long trek to get to the good stuff! Almost 20 hour long audio book and it wasn't until about halfway that the story started to get interesting! That's about 10 hours, which is as long as a normal audio book length that I'd listen to. The last half of the book bumped it up to 4 stars, otherwise this was going to be a 3 star review.
In my opinion this book didn't need to be so long, and I started getting sick of constantly hearing about the wonderful Clary and Jace. I didn't think I'd ever say that because I love Cassandra Clare's other series, but seriously enough already!
In saying this though, I loved seeing them both make an appearance in this, as well as my beloved Jem (heart eyes!) It makes me want to re-read The Infernal Devices again instead of continuing this series... I'm not really looking forward to the next two books, which are EVEN BIGGER AGAIN!
And don't get me started on Emma and Julian (rolls eyes)... Am I getting too old for teenage drama? Maybe? Another forbidden romance, and the possibility of a love triangle in the second book... Can I do it to myself?!
If I hadn't already read and loved The Mortal Instruments many years ago, then I don't think I would continue to read this series. I would've left it with this book and decided it ended here. But, I'm hoping to get a glimpse of favourite characters again, and the mystery side of the story intrigues me. Here's hoping the next books are better and I get sucked into the Shadowhunters world again.
I feel like I just ranted this whole review, but still gave the book 4 stars... Yes, I liked the story/mystery, the humour was on point and I liked Mark Blackthorn's love story and the faerie stuff. And of course Jem, Clary and Jace were a highlight.
In my opinion this book didn't need to be so long, and I started getting sick of constantly hearing about the wonderful Clary and Jace. I didn't think I'd ever say that because I love Cassandra Clare's other series, but seriously enough already!
In saying this though, I loved seeing them both make an appearance in this, as well as my beloved Jem (heart eyes!) It makes me want to re-read The Infernal Devices again instead of continuing this series... I'm not really looking forward to the next two books, which are EVEN BIGGER AGAIN!
And don't get me started on Emma and Julian (rolls eyes)... Am I getting too old for teenage drama? Maybe? Another forbidden romance, and the possibility of a love triangle in the second book... Can I do it to myself?!
If I hadn't already read and loved The Mortal Instruments many years ago, then I don't think I would continue to read this series. I would've left it with this book and decided it ended here. But, I'm hoping to get a glimpse of favourite characters again, and the mystery side of the story intrigues me. Here's hoping the next books are better and I get sucked into the Shadowhunters world again.
I feel like I just ranted this whole review, but still gave the book 4 stars... Yes, I liked the story/mystery, the humour was on point and I liked Mark Blackthorn's love story and the faerie stuff. And of course Jem, Clary and Jace were a highlight.
bkc's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Rating: 2.75/5
The pacing of the book was slow. I loved the characters but it felt like the actual plot progressed very slowly. The mystery was boring and I didn't feel very engaged with the book.
Emma was a very determined main character. I liked her and wanted her to find her answers.How oblivious was she to her own and Julian's feelings at the beginning though? She basically explained away everything and it was exasperating. I liked that her and Julian admitted everything to each other but the way she hurt Julian was disgusting. I was disappointed in her.
Although Julian was my favourite character in the series, he wasn't very nice to Emma after they slept together. It annoyed me that he dismissed what they were to each other. Having said that, he didn't deserve any of the hardships he had to go through, and it was clear that he was struggling with the parabatai law. I hated the clave.
I felt bad for Mark, but liked the way he tried his best for his family. The whipping scene really made me feel emotions. I loved the rest of the Blackthorns too, especially the autism representation with Ty. The way Mark upset him at the end was awful though. Cristina was very nice and a great friend to Emma but Kieran was a jealous disappointment. I thought he was worthy of redemption though, and hope he gets it later in the series.
Furthermore, Arthur was a wreck, and I hated what he had to go through and what he put Julian through. Malcolm's betrayal was a shock but I appreciated Diana. I'm looking forward to learning her secrets. Kit was interesting too but Rook was scum.
Emma was a very determined main character. I liked her and wanted her to find her answers.
Although Julian was my favourite character in the series, he wasn't very nice to Emma after they slept together. It annoyed me that he dismissed what they were to each other. Having said that, he didn't deserve any of the hardships he had to go through, and it was clear that he was struggling with the parabatai law. I hated the clave.
I felt bad for Mark, but liked the way he tried his best for his family. The whipping scene really made me feel emotions. I loved the rest of the Blackthorns too, especially the autism representation with Ty. The way Mark upset him at the end was awful though. Cristina was very nice and a great friend to Emma but Kieran was a jealous disappointment. I thought he was worthy of redemption though, and hope he gets it later in the series.
Furthermore, Arthur was a wreck, and I hated what he had to go through and what he put Julian through. Malcolm's betrayal was a shock but I appreciated Diana. I'm looking forward to learning her secrets. Kit was interesting too but Rook was scum.
Throughout the Shadowhunter Chronicles, I've enjoyed Cassandra's characters but disliked her writing. This was the case with this book too, and I think I will just have to accept this.
amandalyn's review against another edition
5.0
This is the tenth Shadowhunters book I've read and it managed to pull me in just as throughly as the first. Heart eyes emoji forever for this series. I hope it never ends.
widdershins3853's review against another edition
I didn't think I'd have room in my heart for this book because I love The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices so much, but it turns out this is soooooooooo good. Also I'm listening to the audiobook and it's top-notch
mistydawnwaters's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't sure I'd get back into the Shadowhunter books due to burnout but decided to give it another go. THIS DID NOT DISAPPOINT. It's been quite a while since a book held my attention in this sort of thrall, and I hate to say it, but...this might be my favorite Shadowhunter series of them all.
bluejaybooks's review against another edition
4.0
This book was very addictive once I got past the first few chapters, but at the same time I felt it could have been much shorter and still have been effective.
The new characters are enjoyable, and I’m excited to see where this series goes in the sequel.
The new characters are enjoyable, and I’m excited to see where this series goes in the sequel.
gardenfairyreads's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
I think this one is super well written, but I had some trouble getting into it a first. I kind of skimmed over Cassandra's first series, the mortal instruments, so maybe I wasn't getting the full effect of the book, but I got through the second one more quickly (although I din't necessarily like the second one better). I love the LA institute as a setting, and I thought all of the characters in this book were really interesting. (although I'm not a fan of how almost all of them have nicknames, like, not that many people that I know in real life have nicknames, it's not such a common thing that literally every single on of the Blackthorn siblings have a nickname except Mark and Helen)
I think this one is super well written, but I had some trouble getting into it a first. I kind of skimmed over Cassandra's first series, the mortal instruments, so maybe I wasn't getting the full effect of the book, but I got through the second one more quickly (although I din't necessarily like the second one better). I love the LA institute as a setting, and I thought all of the characters in this book were really interesting. (although I'm not a fan of how almost all of them have nicknames, like, not that many people that I know in real life have nicknames, it's not such a common thing that literally every single on of the Blackthorn siblings have a nickname except Mark and Helen)